Thank you, Yan Diomande: Liverpool winners if they land better star with £130m bid

Liverpool could forget all about Yan Diomande if they're able to land a bigger star with a £130m bid. Record-breaking?

Yan Diomande won't be joining Liverpool and that's a shame. There's no getting around that.

The market for wingers - particularly those who can play on the right - is awful right now and the Reds are in the unenviable position of needing one. Mohamed Salah's exit leaves them without a serious option on that flank.

Diomande was unquestionably the best available option. Only, he's now chosen Paris Saint-Germain as his next club and Liverpool are floundering as a result.

But there is a possible light at the end of the tunnel here. Liverpool's failure to land Diomande keeps the door open for a bigger move in a few months' time - and one that would leave them thankful that the Ivorian turned them down.

The obvious mega-target in the wake of all this is Bournemouth's Rayan. The teenager is currently with Brazil at the World Cup and there's little doubt that he's a sensational talent.

Rayan carries that fantastic trait that Diomande lacks, after all: he's proven in the Premier League. His five goals and two assists since arriving in England back in January is a fantastic return and enough that he's starting for his country this summer.

It's on the back of a brilliant 2025 with Vasco da Gama. Rayan was the standout teenager in his homeland, hence the big-money move to Bournemouth.

But he may not stay there for long. The Athletic revealed that there's a release clause in his contract for £130m that kicks off in January. Liverpool will want to be involved there.

Signing Diomande would have made it impossible and it means this could actually work out in their favour. There is absolutely a path here that results in Rayan, not Diomande, becoming the standout winger not-named-Lamie-Yamal of his generation.

And Liverpool do now have the door open to sign him. Yes, it's an incredible amount of money - but we think it might be worth it.

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